The crooked river water quality partnership (crwqp or the partnership) is the key forum for a diverse collective of stakeholders and partners working together to address water quality concerns in…

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $299,974 Project Grant under the Cooperative Watershed Management Program (CFDA 15.554) to the Deschutes River Conservancy (DRC) for the Crooked River Water Quality Partnership (CRWQP). The 3-year grant period runs from September 16, 2024 to June 30, 2027.

The primary objectives of this grant are to: 1) formalize the structure, governance, and operations of the CRWQP, a multi-stakeholder collaborative focused on addressing water quality issues in the lower Crooked River watershed; and 2) increase the capacity, support, and funding to advance the partnership's planning, project development, and implementation activities. Key partners include the Crooked River Watershed Council, Crook County Soil and Water Conservation District, Ochoco Irrigation District, City of Prineville, and Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation. The ultimate goal is to implement community-supported actions that reduce nutrient concentrations and improve water quality in the Crooked River and Deschutes River, benefiting aquatic life, recreation, and human uses.

The crooked river water quality partnership (crwqp or the partnership) is the key forum for a diverse collective of stakeholders and partners working together to address water quality concerns in the lower crooked river, a tributary to the deschutes river in central oregon. Initial focus of this project strengthening watershed collaboration for effective planning and project development - will be solidifying and formalizing structure, governance, and operations of the partnership, and increasing support, capacity, and funding to advance partnership activity and project development. Once the crwqp is more formally established, the partnership will utilize the recently developed crooked river strategic action plan to guide and expand consensus-based and data-driven priority implementation planning, and the coordination, design, and implementation of future projects. Primary partners in this effort include the deschutes river conservancy, the crooked river watershed council and the crook county soil and water conservation district (the latter two based in prineville, or, in the heart of the lower crooked river watershed). Additional partners and supporting stakeholders include the ochoco irrigation district, the city of prineville, crook county, and the confederated tribes of the warm spring reservation, among other agencies, organizations, and relevant interests. Funding will be used to establish a partnership coordinator and add capacity across the primary partners to help execute the needs of the program. The crwqp envisions a future with successful community supported actions that ultimately result in the reduction of nutrient concentrations and other water quality improvements in the crooked river, and consequently in the deschutes river lake billy chinook, for the benefit of spawning and rearing of reintroduced salmon and steelhead in the lower crooked river, as well as resident native fish, public recreation uses, and human health considerations for the communities that rely on the lower crooked river and deschutes river water. Funding through this grant project is planned for 3 years.